Virtual Makeovers
Try a daring new look—without having
to live with it forever.
By Molly Delano
Have you ever wondered how you’d look with Calista Flockhart’s
wispy hair? Or what bright blue eyes would do for your dark
complexion? The answers to these burning beauty questions and
more are right on your desktop.
Thanks to new digital imaging technology, the online beauty
business is booming with the addition of interactive features like
virtual makeovers.
It’s as easy as uploading a photo of yourself, and then block
ing out a few hours to try out everything from the ridiculous to
the realistic.
Makeoverstudio.com is without a question the best site out
there. The “My Studio" section offers great graphics and easy-to
follow instructions for testing out hundreds of hairstyles and col
ors and makeup combinations.
There's no question that some of the
hairstyles they offer are horrible—
but that's half the fun.
You can upload a digital photo of yourself in seconds or
choose from one of many models they provide.
There’s no question that some of the hairstyles they offer are
horrible—but that's half the fun. I guarantee you’ll test out a
bleach blond crew cut before your makeover session is through.
Makeoverstudio.com also has a “Makeover of the Month” sec
tion in which they choose a willing victim and give her several dif
ferent hair and makeup looks. Each look has a “how-to” pop-up
window that includes instructions for the cut, styling tips, and
hints about whether or not the look is right for your hair and face
type. You have to register to use the makeover features, but the
process is free and relatively painless.
Emakeover.com is another virtual makeover site, but it pales in
comparison to makeoverstudio.com. Grainy graphics and a touchy
uploading process make it difficult to get a real sense of what
you’d look like in these hair and makeup options. But once you get
past the glitches, prepare for some serious fun—in addition to
hair and makeup, emakeover.com also has sunglasses and goofy
hats that you’d never wear in a million years. But that won’t stop
you from checking them out!
Probably the most useful function of these sites is seeing how
you’d look with a drastically different hair length—I’ve always
thought about cutting my medium-long hair, but after seeing these
cheeks in a bob, I know it’ll never happen.
You can test out tons of radical hair colors at clairol.com,
and at makeover.women.com, though the image quality is poor,
there are dozens of hair-dos to choose from, ranging from short
to long to glamorous (try out that Rapunzel look with their step
by-step “how-to’s”).
Hair isn’t the only thing you can test out online; there are
plenty of sites that allow you to try bold makeup shades without
actually buying anything. Head to ivillage.com/beauty and give *
their “makeover-o-matic” a whirl. Choose a model and then experi
ment with foundation, eye shadow and liner, cheek color and lip
stick. When you’re done, save your look in a “Look Book” that you
can refer to before you head to an actual store.
If these sites don’t quench your makeover madness,
Cosmopolitan sells Virtual Makeover software
(familycentral/home/cosmo2) that you can install on your com
puter. You’ll be able to experiment for days with makeup, hair style
and color, and even accessories. Try out Essence’s Virtual Makeover
software for women of color (littieafrica.com/essence). •
wilt
The Steamtunnels
staff (pre-makeover
at far left) tries
Emakeover.com
for some brave new
looks...with
questionable
results. From top
to bottom:
Production
Coordinator Tom
Webb should stick
with the surf bum
look; Office
Manager Jesse Lee
is still after that
perfect weekend
’do; Marketing
Director Matt
McRoberts has a
smile on his
face...and
something on his
head; Creative
Director Audrey
Borowski goes
through more
changes than
Madonna.